Grants help SUSD boost API results

Friday

Aug 30, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Forty-two months, two superintendents and three grant proposals later, Stockton Unified finally has learned whether seven struggling K-8 campuses would benefit if they received federal dollars aimed at improving schools identified by the state as "persistently low-performing."

Roger Phillips

STOCKTON - Forty-two months, two superintendents and three grant proposals later, Stockton Unified finally has learned whether seven struggling K-8 campuses would benefit if they received federal dollars aimed at improving schools identified by the state as "persistently low-performing."

As it turns out, the schools benefited quite a bit, based on 2012-13 Academic Performance Index scores released Thursday by the California Department of Education.

In 2012-13, the campuses extended their school days, provided paid collaboration time and more training for teachers, increased parent involvement and offered Saturday programs to children courtesy of more than $11 million in federal School Improvement Grants awarded to Stockton Unified. The three-year, $34 million SIG grant continues this school year and next.

"It's the changes that have come with the SIG program that have driven the scores," Superintendent Steve Lowder said. "It makes a difference."

Teresa Oden, assigned a year ago to oversee the SIG schools, added that "what's been effective has been that the schools are working together collaboratively as a cohort."

Aside from the SIG schools, the other bright spot for Stockton Unified was the 35-point increase for Stockton Early College Academy, which soared to 923, one of the top scores in San Joaquin County.

But there was disappointment, too. The 37,000-student school district's overall score of 697 marked only a one-point increase and remains the lowest of the largest districts in the county and 92 points below the statewide API score of 789 (also a one-point increase). The biggest disappointments at individual Stockton Unified schools were at Taft Elementary (down 78 points to 599) and Grunsky (down 60 to 683).

As for the SIG campuses, despite their improvement, they still face a long road to reach the state's target score of 800.

Stockton Unified's SIG schools first were branded by the state early in 2010.

In the subsequent years, Stockton Unified twice applied unsuccessfully for SIG funding before finally securing the money early in 2012.

At Pittman on Thursday morning, Principal Adrienne Machado credited her school's progress to "parent involvement, professional development, Saturday school, ... everything together motivating us to do well."

Oden said Stockton Unified is hoping revenue from student attendance at the optional four-hour Saturday sessions will help sustain some SIG programs after the grant expires. According to district data, students at the SIG schools had attended more than 13,600 days worth of Saturday classes through April 2013. The district also hopes to sustain current SIG programs and eventually duplicate them at some other schools through partnerships with community organizations, Oden added.

Thursday, in the seventh-grade classroom of Pittman teacher Lucimelda Rodriguez-Kovach, signs posted on the walls reminded students they have "the right to ask anyone in (their) group for help" and that they "have the duty to assist anyone who asks for help."

The cooperation of the students, as well as their attentiveness, was on display as they discussed the deeper meaning of a video in which two adults were stumped over how to exit an escalator that had become stuck. Though some students initially were puzzled that the adults didn't just walk up the final few escalator steps, eventually they understood the lesson in problem-solving.

"We're a community of learners," Rodriguez-Kovach told her class. "We have to help each other. We're not going to get stuck on an escalator."

Here's a look at how other school districts around the county and region fared.

Overview: The district suffered a two-point drop to 801, still one point above the state's target score. Six of eight elementary sites suffered setbacks, as did Sierra Middle School, which shed 36 points but is still at 835. Lincoln High gained 11 points to move within four points of 800.

Overview: The district posted a five-point gain, increasing its score to 766. Lodi Middle School posted an impressive 45-point gain, moving to 757.

Factoid: Elkhorn Middle School went from being stratospheric to merely sensational. The school dropped 15 points but its API is still 979.

Overview: Manteca Unified dropped three points, to 755.

Factoid: George McParland Elementary gained nine points and tied Veritas Elementary at 826 as the district's high scorer.

Overview: The district suffered a six-point drop to 768, with several schools suffering double-digit decreases.

Factoid: The big gainers were Millennium Charter High (up 21 points to 799) and North Elementary (up 20 to 714).

Overview: Calaveras Unified's schools lost 11 points, falling to 780. The top score in the district was by Toyon Middle School, which posted a score of 825, a 10-point decline from a year ago.

Factoid: Bret Harte High lost three points, to 797.

Linden Unified (771) dropped 14 points in a year marked by turmoil that concluded with the departure of Superintendent Michael Gonzales. The school at the focal point of the controversy, Waverly Elementary, lost three points but still posted an impressive score of 827. ... Aspire's charter schools continue to produce high scores. Aspire APEX Academy took a big step forward, gaining 35 points to improve to 751. Port City Academy (843), Vincent Shalvey Academy (915) and Benjamin Holt Academy (892) were especially impressive. ... Smaller districts continue to post some of the best scores in San Joaquin County, led by Oak View Union (887), Lammersville Unified (872), Jefferson Elementary (842) and Ripon Unified (820).